Smallholding courses

Keeping chickens

Learn what you need to know about keeping hens in your garden; from choosing the right breed, housing, sighting your run, feeding through to augmenting your flock, plus tips on gardening alongside your free-range hens!

• Treberfedd, Lampeter, Wales, Sunday 28th March
• Trill Farm, Devon, Saturday 3rd April
• Empire Farm, Somerset, Tuesday 6th April
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Friday 9th April
• Empire Farm, Somerset, Saturday 24th April
• Emerson College, East Sussex, Tuesday 4th - 8th May 
• Bore Place, Kent, Tuesday 18th May
• Magdalen Project, Somerset, Thursday 10th June
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Friday 16th July
• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 18th July 

Keeping chickens for meat

Once you taste traditionally raised chicken meat you will never want to buy a supermarket chicken ever again! Chickens are easy to keep and you don’t have to raise them just for eggs.

• Empire Farm, Somerset, Saturday 15th May

An introduction to bee keeping

Discover more about bees and answer your questions about bee keeping 

• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 11th April
• Empire Farm, Somerset, Sunday 11th April
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Friday 7th May
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Saturday 8th May
• Emerson College, East Sussex, Saturday 10th - 15th May 
• Occombe Farm, Devon, Sunday 16th May
• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 6th June
• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 20th June
• Magdalen Project, Somerset, Wednesday 23rd June
• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 17th July 
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Friday 23rd July
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Saturday 24th July
• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 25th July
• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Saturday 4th September

Make your own skep to catch a swarm

Skeps are not often used for hives these days, but they are a wonderful container for collecting a swarm. The Natural Beekeeping Trust is offering two dates for a whole day master class in skep making with expert Martin Newton.

• Plaw Hatch Farm, Sussex, Sunday 21st March
• Plaw Hatch Farm, Sussex, Saturday 17th April

Beekeeping - Queen Rearing

A new and unusual opportunity for all our beekeepers! Come and learn how to rear your own queen bees from the UK's leading international authority on the subject, Clive de Bruyn.

• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Thursday-Friday 27th-28th May

Small-holding courses

From arm-chair smallholding to setting up your own place, this course is for you!

• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Friday 26th March
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Gloucestershire, Friday 18th June

Cattle keeping

• Magdalen Project, Somerset, Thursday 25th March
• Trill Farm, Devon, Saturday 24th April

Keeping sheep and lambing

• Assington Mill, Suffolk, Sunday 25th April 
• Trill Farm, Devon, Saturday 15th May
• Magdalen Project, Somerset, Wednesday 26th May

Pig keeping

• Empire Farm, Somerset, Saturday 17th April
• Trill Farm, Devon, Saturday 1st May
• Empire Farm, Somerset, Sunday 16th May

An Introduction to Land Management

• Magdalen Project, Somerset, Wednesday 9th June 
   

Introduction to managing crops and grassland

This course is aimed at beginners or those wishing to deepen their knowledge of growing healthy field crops on a small scale, and or providing good quality feed for their livestock.

• Trill Farm, Devon, Saturday 3rd July

Supported by the Daylesford Foundation